Self-seal balloon



May 7, 1963 J. F. ROCKOVITS 3,088,242

SELF-SEAL BALLOON Filed Aug. 13, 1958 INVENTOR John F. Rockovifs UnitedStates Patent ()fifice 3,33,242 Patented May 7, 1963 3,088,242 SELF-SEALBALLOON John F. Rockovits, Allentown, Pa, assignor of twenty-fivepercent to John J. McGlew, and thirty-seven and onehalf percent to GezaTomosy Filed Aug. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 754,777 7 Claims. (Cl. 45-90) Thisinvention relates to balloons and more particularly to a sealing devicefor the stems thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a completelyself-sealing balloon that may be conveniently inflated and thenautomatically sealed against the loss of air from the interior thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-sealballoon of the above type in which the inside of the neck of the balloonis coated with an adhesive that serves to restrict the passagewaythrough the neck to prevent the loss of air therefrom.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a selfseal balloon bearingthe above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimumnumber of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and eflicient inoperation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention,reference may be had to the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partly in section, of aballoon having self-sealing means illustrating the theoretical basis ofthe present invention;

FIGURE 1a is a view similar to FIGURE 1, showing the parts in anadjusted position;

FIGURE 1b is a view similar to FIGURE 1, showing the neck of the balloonin a completely sealed position;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 of a practical construction ofone embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, illustrating a modified form ofthe present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, illustrating still another formof the present invention; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged transverse cross sectional view taken along line5-5 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, and more particularly toFIGURES 1, 1a, 1b, and 5, a self-sealing balloon that illustrates thetheoretical aspects of the present invention is shown to include ahollow main bulbous portion 12 and a neck portion 14 through which airis ordinarily supplied for inflating the balloon. The inside surface ofthis neck portion 14 is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive 16which serves to integrally bond the opposite sides of the neck portiontogether in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1b to block the passagewaythrough the neck portion 14. However, in order to maintain the neckpassageway open until the balloon has been inflated, a retractablesleeve 18 open at the outer end and having an opening 21) at the innerend is inserted into the neck 14 to serve as a spacer between theadjacent adhesive surfaces. A self-supporting tubular stem 22 having alongitudinal bore 24 is slidably supported within this sleeve 18 so asto provide a mouth piece for inflating the balloon prior to thewithdrawal of the sleeve 18. After the balloon has been inflated, thisstem 22 is withdrawn, in the manner illustrated in FIGURE la, followingwhich the sleeve 18 is to be also withdrawn so that the opposite sidesof the adhesive coated neck portion 14 may be pressed together as shownin FIGURE 11; to block the flow of air outwardly through the neck 14. Inthis embodiment, which is merely for purposes of illustration, therewould be some difficulty in withdrawing the sleeve 18 from the adhesivecoated surfaces 16 within the neck 14.

Therefore, reference is now made to FIGURE 2 of the drawing whichillustrates a practical embodiment of the present invention in which theassembly 30 includes the hollow bulbous main body portion 32, the neckportion 34-, and a layer of adhesive 36 applied to the interior surfaceof the neck 34. In this arrangement, the inner extremity of a flexiblesleeve 38 is connected, such as by glue 4%), to the inner extremity of atubular stem member 42. As a result, withdrawal of the stem member 42 isoperative to peel the sleeve member 38 from the adhesive surface 36 asthe inner extremity thereof is withdrawn outwardly through the outer endthereof.

In FIGURE 3 of the drawing, the assembly 50 similarly includes a mainbulbous portion 52, neck 54, and layer 56 of adhesive material. In thisembodiment, however, the sleeve member 58 is integral with the stem 60,the outer end of the stem 60 being partially withdrawn through theinterior of the sleeve portion 58. This combined sleeve and stem elementcan be molded as a single tubular member.

In FIGURE 4 of the drawing, still another embodiment is illustrated inwhich the assembly includes a main bulbous portion 72, a neck portion74, and a tubular stem 76. In this arrangement, however, the sleeveportion is formed from a closely wound convoluted coil of flexiblestring that is applied to the inside surface of the adhesive layer 78.In this arrangement, the inner extremity of the coil of string issecured, such as by glue, to the inner extremity of the stem 76. All ofthe coils 82 are spaced closely together to prevent adjacent adhesivesurfaces from sticking to each other, and the outer extremity 84 of thelength of string may be secured to the outside of the neck 74. It willthus be recognized that by pulling outwardly upon the stem 76, the coilwill unwind thus enabling the adhesive surfaces to be joined together inthe manner illustrated in FIGURE 1b to seal the neck of the balloonagainst the loss of air.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. A self-sealing balloon comprising an inflatable portion and a neckportion having its interior surface coated with a material adherent tothe material of said balloon, and a sleeve member in said neck portionfor inflating the balloon, said sleeve member being releasably held bysaid neck portion and maintaining the interior wall of said neck portionin an extended position whereby said sleeve member may be removed fromsaid extension after inflation of said inflatable portion to permit saidneck portion opposite interior surfaces to become adhered in sealingengagement by said adherent material.

2. A self-sealing balloon comprising an inflatable bag portion, and atubular extension having at least a portion of its interior surfacecoated with a material adherent to the material of said balloon, and asleeve member in said tubular extension for inflating the balloon, saidsleeve member being releasably held by said extension and maintainingthe interior wall of said extension in an extended position, wherebysaid sleeve may be removed from said extension after inflation of thebag portion to permit said tubular extension to collapse and causeopposite surfaces thereof to become adhered in sealing engagement bysaid adherent material.

3. A self-sealing balloon according to claim 2 wherein said adherentmaterial is a pressuresensitive adhesive.

4. A self-sealing balloon according to claim 2 wherein said sleevemember includes an inner semi-rigid stem portion and an outer portion ofa material which is easily releasable from said adherent material.

5. A self-sealing balloon according to claim 4 wherein said-outerportion of said sleeve member is connectedto saidinner stem portionwhereby said stem portion may be pulled out of said balloon tubularextension and thereafter said outer portion of said sleeve member may bepeeled away from said adherent material by continuing topull out saidinner stern portion of said sleeve memher.

6. A self-sealing balloon according to claim 2. wherein said sleevemember includes an inner stem portion and an outer portion including acoil oftmaterial connected to the inner end of said stem portion andwound around said stem portion from the inner end to theouter endthereof, said coil of material being in contact With said adherentmaterial whereby said sleeve member is removed by removing said stemportion to elfect unwinding and removal of said coil of material andrelease thereof from said adherent material.

7. The new combination of a deflated toy balloon having amembraneous-like{thin-walled body portion capable of great expansion anda tubular neck portion disposed outside of said body portion, saidneckportion having on its inner walls a pressure-sensitive adhesiveadapted to adhere together in intimate engagement opposite areas of saidinner walls of the neck portion for the purposes of sealing the latterto maintain the balloon in an inflated condition. I 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

7. THE NEW COMBINATION OF A DEFLATED TOY BALLOON HAVING AMEMBRANEOUS-LIKE THIN-WALLED BODY PORTION CAPABLE OF GREAT EXPANSION ANDA TUBULAR NECK PORTION DISPOSED OUTSIDE OF SAID BODY PORTION, SAID NECKPORTION HAVING ON ITS INNER WALLS A PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE ADAPTEDTO ADHERE TOGETHER IN INTIMATE ENGAGEMENT OPPOSITE AREAS OF SAID INNERWALLS OF THE NECK PORTION FOR THE PURPOSES OF SEALING THE LATTER TOMAINTAIN THE BALLOON IN AN INFLATED CONDITION.